The Republican Agenda represents outdated Values and Ideology that no longer serves our diverse country as we confront 21st century challenges By: Eric J. Safranek “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States... These are the opening words to an Oath that every US President, Senator, Congressperson and member of our Armed Forces recites “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The Preamble to the US Constitution as it lays out the intentions of our Constitution As a Nation we have lost sight of the vision initially intended to guide us toward a “more perfect Union”. Considering it was written at a time when Women were void of Rights and Africans were shipped to our Country as Slaves (only to be viewed as three-fifths of a third-class person later) perhaps, it was never intended to represent us all equally. However you choose to interpret the above words or the overall intentions of our Founding Fathers, it is imperative that we as a collective, move forward together, to make the necessary improvements to our culture, our laws, and our behaviors, in an effort to create a more perfect Union that adapts to modern day challenges, which truly benefits ALL of our Citizens. Over the past 233 years, since its signing, we have continually updated our Constitution to meet new changes, challenges and technology. A pattern emerges of slow adaptation, which has always lagged far behind the need for said changes — this becomes even more obvious now, during a time of exponential advancements across the board. Just as we all continually seek out better, safer, more efficient technology; we should enthusiastically seek out similar improvements to our society. The Police Officers who stood aside as they witnessed one of their own murder an American, (George Floyd) are just as guilty as the Republican Congressmen who continue to stay on the sidelines. They fail to stand up, oppose, speak out against, or take action against Trump’s incessant crimes and calls for violence. Possibly due to a fear of retaliation from their own Party, from the Radicalized Right, or from this President himself; our Republican Congress and Governors have enabled Trump and supported his actions. This Administration, The Republicans who refused to oppose it, and the Citizens that continue to support it, all have blood on their hands, and No Republicans have shown the necessary Courage or Leadership to govern our diverse nation, in any capacity, moving forward. The Republican Party does not represent our country Fundamentally or Demographically. Both political parties are desperately in need of fresh blood, new perspectives and new leadership, (just as America is in need of additional Political Parties to address the diversity of our citizens.) But it is the selfish “survival of the fittest” Republican attitude that continues to divide us. As we have learned through team sports, one player cannot win a game by himself… it takes the efforts of everyone on the team. Those who are religious, are instilled with a belief in helping those in need… and we currently have more than half our country in desperate need of our help, in one way or another. Solutions… What Can We Do?
Ask more questions… Ask better questions… Listen. Is this a Right and Moral Response? This is a litmus test in which many of our policies and practices continually fail. Confederate Flags, Statues and mementos of our racist history should not be celebrated outdoors, but instead secured within museums to serve as cautionary reminders of our country’s past transgressions. We face an uncertain future of fewer jobs, more health concerns, greater threats, and modern issues that simply cannot be resolved by 20th century approaches. The solutions we seek lie in creating A More Perfect Union which benefits us ALL, and the path forward is Together. #AvanVivePolitics AvanVive.com
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"The misinformation that reaches the Fox News audience is a danger to public health. Indeed, it is not an overstatement to say that your misreporting endangers your own viewers – and not only them, for in a pandemic, individual behavior affects significant numbers of other people as well." "When the statements of knowledgeable experts are surrounded by false claims made by pundits and politicians, including the president – claims that are not rebutted by knowledgeable people in real time – the overall effect is to mislead a vulnerable public about risks and harms. Misinformation furthers the reach and the dangers of the pandemic." Fox News first commenced broadcasting in 1996. Over the next 24 years, assisted by Right-Wing Media and “televangelists” such as Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and Bill O’Reilly; they have delivered the word of Roger Ailes, and successfully brainwashed their viewers into believing a false narrative — an entirely new, alternate reality. They have armed Republicans with an armada of misinformation — slanderous opinions repackaged and delivered as fact. Fox News has instilled and normalized such fear, hatred and racism in unrelenting fashion, that they have trained their followers to vote against their best interests. "Fox News hosts and guests minimized the dangers, accusing Democrats and the media of inflating the dangers (in Sean Hannity’s words) to “bludgeon Trump with this new hoax”. Such commentary encouraged Donald Trump to trivialize the threat and helped obstruct national, state and local efforts to limit the coronavirus." Fox, combined with the efforts of Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich, have created such divisiveness amongst Republicans and Democrats — a culture of Us vs Them, that Republicans now prioritize party over country and are committed to a win at any cost approach, to elections, gerrymandering, laws that favor the rich and unfairly discriminate against and disenfranchise: African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, the Poor and the Middle Class. Add to this, an ongoing and never-ending rant from Trump about "Fake News", which is purposefully directed towards credible news sources, (such as AP, BBC and The New York Times) in an attempt to group them with the likes of Fox News, The Blaze and OAN, which ironically - Trump portrays as "Nice News." The remedy to these tactics lies in education, access to a diverse selection of accurate information, and last but not least, independent thinking. We must take the time to teach our children how to interpret, digest and contemplate the overwhelming amount of information they digest every waking hour of the day; verify that these statements, ideas and ideologies meld with their personal convictions, while developing the skill to differentiate between sourced fact and personal opinions. Right Now, as we deal with the spread of COVID-19, we can lessen the harm of this virus by dealing with the greater underlying danger that currently threatens us - misinformation. Prior to sharing your facts and opinions with others, the most beneficial measure we could take to help each other, is to take but a moment and think to ourselves... "Do my opinions and facts meet the high standards I set for myself?" #AvanVivePolitics AvanVive.com Referenced opinion article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/09/rupert-murdoch-open-letter-journalists-coronavirus-fox-news Take a stand, make a difference and seek out better representation of the values that matter most to you. If the last 4 years have taught us anything, it is that the USA is irrevocably divided. Trump’s words, actions and policies have not only cemented an, “Us vs Them” mentality and dialogue amongst Republicans and Democrats, but also revealed a Grand Canyon size fissure between Republican Politicians and the Voters they supposedly represent.
The Democrats created their own party divide back in 2016 with questionable tactics that promoted the Establishment Candidate, Hilary Clinton, to the Democratic Nomination over the Progressive Candidate, Bernie Sanders, causing a disenfranchised segment of the Democratic Party to vote either against their own candidate, or not at all — all but clearing a path to Trump’s victory. In the article below, Noam Chomsky does a brilliant job of intelligently defining just how dangerous Trump is; how Trump’s actions are a greater threat to Mankind than those of Hitler, (and that the comparisons are more than justified); and why Sander’s consistent commitment to the policies he promotes, is a threat to the .01% Establishment, but not to the large majority of the American population which he hopes to represent.
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AuthorEric J. Safranek Archives
October 2020
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